According to the tips we have received, Lyoness / Lyconet permit to participate in a pyramid-like sales system, where they receive an opportunity to earn income by rewarding new members.

The tippers state that the size of the income of the company and affiliates largely depends on how much money one pays to participate and the number of new members being recruited.

The Lottery Authority has also been informed that some individuals have paid or are considering paying hundreds of thousands NOK to Lyoness / Lyconet to get the opportunity to get paid ten times as much in three years.

Furthermore we have received information about the recruitment of participants right down to the age of 18-19 who place their savings money in this system.

For most of the people who contact us, it is unclear where the deposit is placed in Lyoness / Lyconet, and the source of the promised payouts.

The impression most are left with after Lyoness meetings is that it is the recruitment of new participants into Lyoness / Lyconet who finance the payments, and not the sale of real product.

In several of the tips we have received, it is argued that Lyoness / Lyconet holds meetings in which they give incorrect and misleading information about the business of the company and companies they collaborate with.

Among other things some of the tips indicate that Lyoness / Lyconet does not have a direct cooperation agreement with all the companies they refer to at their meetings, and that they only pay out a theoretical salary that can be used to act for.

Some have also reported attending meetings where aggressive and classic tricks of pyramid companies have been used, like “You have to hurry now, soon the opportunity will disappear”.

The Gaming Board asked Lyoness to clarify their concerns.

Lyoness replied via letter on May 30th, however the details of their reply have not been made public.

What we do know is the Gaming Board wasn’t satisfied with their answers, prompting a followup “for further explanation” on July 14th.

This is because the business of Lyoness in Norway is in fact a pyramid-like sales system where compensation is paid for the opportunity to earn income due, in particular, others being recruited into the system and not the sale or consumption of goods, services or other benefits.

Lyoness’ May response appears to have attempted to differentiate Lyoness’ global operations from those in Norway, as the Gaming Board makes a point of clarifying they are only investigating Lyoness with respect to business in Norway.

One argument seemingly raised by Lyoness is that its affiliates might be disseminating false information about the business.

The Gaming Board responded by stating

if it were to be that the tips we received are based on a wrong perception of the actual business of Lyoness, this also raises questions about the marketing activity of the company in Norway and potential violation of other laws that are intended to protect consumers.

This includes the use of unfair terms and conditions and misleading and aggressive marketing.

On July 30th the Norwegian newspaper Bergensavisen (BA) published an account of a Lyoness meeting held by local affiliates.

The outdoor venue Una at Bryggen in Bergen has been a partner company with Lyoness’s distribution program for several years and is widely used as a venue for marketers in the Lyoness system.

One of the Norwegian main characters in the network, Terje Duesund, is an owner of the venue.

Over a beer at the brewery Una at Bryggen, she (a Lyoness affiliate) tries to persuade BA journalists in attendance to pay to become a sales agent in the controversial, international business Lyoness.

She is casual, well dressed and speaks fast – and clearly.

She does not know that it’s a BA journalist she’s talking to, and states you’d have to be an idiot not to pay 430 kroner to join the controversial marketing system.

And she strongly recommends paying 19,000 kroner to become a “premium” marketer. Then you get the chance to earn much more money, she insists.

Have read the compensationplan (given from my friend) Have also seen my friends “Unitsystem” and she have had a few bonuses payed out (3 years or so).

She talkes about Easi Shop Plus now and that she buys discount vouchers every month and get units from that! Can anyone explain this?

I mean, can you actually buy a unit and after a few years have the bonus explained in their compensationplan! She is a “hardcore onlineshopper” and buys a lot via online and get money back from the vouchers!

Ok! As I understood my friends explanation Easi shop plus is an “add on service” to buy monthly vouchers which gives you a unit which later on gives you payout as described in their compensationplan! Is this correct or wrong?

Do you actually have to recruit others to take part of Easi shop plus? She said no to this question!

Actually she says its run by Lyoness. She then monthly get a couple of units placed randomly in other unitsystem, rather than her own. She says this is better cause she doesn´t have a big personal network that consumes a lot, only her own shopping.
Sorry, thought you knew about this Easi shop plus monthly thing….
Can you digg into this?

If it’s run by Lyoness then yeah, technically you don’t need to recruit to get units put under you. They will happen over time through spillover.

This is true regardless of whether you spend through Easi Shop or the merchant network (probably the same thing).

Given the amount of money required to generate said units though, you’ll be lucky to receive one ROI payout in a few years time. That’s if the downline you’re in doesn’t collapse before then, which most do.

No, she actually doesn since I already have a card thorough a local store! But we discuss the Lyconet thing pretty hard, I don´t have the money to spend anyway.

Thats the thing I don´t get: why should she loose her ROI if her line collapse? She doesn´t have a downline/upline/ more than her self! She signed through their website as a “stand alone member” and the units are in national systems!

So its true as she says that she tecnically can pay for a unit every month with Easi shop plus and after a few years (if lucky) regardless of her own network? Damn! I´m loosing the bet!

That´s exactly what I told her but she says it´s a differ between her Personal Unit system and the National systems.

According to her the Personal system needs units from your own or your network/downlines shopping. But with the National systems your own downline isn´t needed since your unit is put into that system and then evolves from other peoples units also put in that system every month.

So according to her she gets units into those National systems via Easi shop plus.

No, she is all her own, no upline or personal network, she´s not interested in networking, only get cashback!

Broken promises is always bad. The thing is that those people promising big ROI in short term are the bad thing about this. Everyones should be told that the ROI is to be expected whitin a 5 year period. Everything before should be concidered a bonus.

I don not base my opinion om my own thoughts only, but on what I see for my self and what is known to be correct. As I wrote, those who gave up their Lyconet ID in 2014-15 have actually lost a great ROI today. That´s what I´m trying to say!

If people find this a scam it´s not because they actually lost their money but that they thought the ROI should appear earlier!